5 Summer Happies!!

Hey, there! It's Friday and it's a good day! The sun is shining, my "to do" list is not that long and I plan to soak up some of this last bit of summer goodness!!

I can't believe summer is close to it's end. The flexibility of more free time has been really nice, but I am excited for this upcoming school year and the new adventures it is going to bring (more on that soon). So I thought in all of the lingering summer glory, I would share with you 5 of my favorite summer happies!!

1.) Disney!!

Moments of stolen splendor on summer nights, like in yesterday's post, make my heart so light and happy! And mostly I am loving my MagicBands!! So much so that the other day, I wore two!! Our new customized ones had just came in, so we had brought both in case the new ones hadn't linked yet. Well they had, so I rocked them! Think I might set a new Disney trend! If you are a Disney fan like myself, and live close enough that evening trips are possible, I highly recommend getting an annual pass of some kind. You are probably thinking - just like I did- that the price is to ridiculous, but if you know you will go, it practically pays for itself. It is one of the best Christmas gifts I have ever gotten.

2.) A good book!!

This is a summer essential!! Perfect for sitting outside (or in on a rainy day) with a sweet tea in hand, getting drawn into another world. I am currently reading through the Beautiful Creatures series and I couldn't recommend it more. More on my summer reading list in upcoming weeks, because I have read some great ones (Unwritten was one of my favorites). Next up on my list: The Book Thief. Reviews?

3.) Sunshine and sweet tea!!

So I know this technically 2-in-1, but it is the perfect combination!! I have not been able to make it to the beach much this summer, but I love to be outside (even in the muggy Florida heat), just as long as I have something to keep me cool! I am loving the new Arnold Palmer Coolatta from Dunkin Donuts, but I think my favorite cool down drink is still Starbucks shaken green tea and lemonade, sweetened of course!! I love that my Starbucks knows what I am coming in for and many days you can find me sitting outside in the sunshine, sipping my green tea and reading my book. It's a nice little break in my day!!

4.) Sunless tanner!!

Because I haven't made it to the beach as much as I would have liked, this body of mine is nice and pasty. The Rodan and Fields sunless tanner has become my new friend!! I have tried other sunless tanners in the past and they never worked. They were streaky or looked orange and so I stopped using them. A friend gave this to me to try and I was hooked. So much so, that I now use a lot of the Rodan and Fields products. I usually use three coats (top picture is 2 coats) as I like that color tone the best, one coat will just make a slight difference. I also recommend if you are using it for an event, like a wedding, that you use it on your arms too. Otherwise, you will wind up like me the first time I did it, with super tan legs and a white upper body. Lesson learned (see below)!  

5.) Trip time!!

I love our summer trips!! I look forward to them all year long!! They aren't extravagant, some aren't all that restful, but they are perfect!! We have already been to Tennessee; that's our 'rest-and-renew-and-catch-up-with-wonderful-family' trip. Pretty soon we will be leaving, with 3 kids in tow, for a week in the mountains of North Georgia. This trip is not so restful, but it is wonderful in it's own right. I can't wait for time with my 3 loves (4 I guess, if you count Babe haha), adventures and fun!!

And here is a little happy for you! I ended up with two copies of The Book Thief. I am a book hoarder!! And figured there might be one of you out there who, like me, hasn't gotten to see much sun this summer! So enjoy a little giveaway for your Friday! We can be book reading buddies! 

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Summer in a bucket!

Summer!! Summer is here, the sun is here. Florida feels as hot as Hades and it only gets hotter from here. I have one week left of work at j.o.b #1 and while I don't have the summer off from the other, a more flexible schedule is definitely high on my list of summer perks! And with all that a little bit of free time I finally have time to check off tons of these 5 big plans! 

5 on Friday: 

Top 5 Summer Bucket List Plans! 

1.) Read- This may not sound huge to some, but in my world time to sit with a book and not feel like I have to stop after just one chapter seems like utter perfection! I keep adding to my book list but I don't ever seem to be able to check anything off.  I am currently working my way through the Beautiful Creatures series and so far I am loving it. 

2.) Get Outta' Town- I can't wait to kiss the Orlando city limit sign good-bye. I can't wait to spend hours in the car, with nothing to do but drive. I am even looking forward to one of those drives done with 3 children filled with "are we there yets?" in tow. I love road trips! Always have. And right now nothing seems better than uninterrupted road leading me onwards to my peaceful place (TN) and our kid-filled-week-of-fun that closes out each summer (Big Canoe, GA).

3.) Soak in the sunshine- Beach, lake, pool... on a boat, on a float, in a chair, not a care; vitamin D, need I say more? 

4.) Disney Days- I am looking forward to more flexibility to use our passes. While I have a feeling that the majority of those extra days will be spent at the water parks, I am just excited to have more time to go. 

5.) Projects galore- I am excited for time to check off projects I have been wanting to get done. I really want to use an old broken crib and make a outdoor swinging day bed. Other projects on the horizon: another book wreath, make a farm house table, pallet patio furniture, paint our corn hole boards all cute (Babe may argue this point), and finally get more pictures hung around the house.

  

Maybe not the most superb bucket list in the world, but this summer I am looking for simple; simple and rejuvenating and flexible! 

What about your summer plans? Any good books on your reading recommendation list? And while your at it how about try this one out? 

I am not usually a time period reader and I figured I would share it with someone who was. It is up for grabs for one lucky reader. 

Just enter below and it could find its way to you!

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High Five for Monday

Sooo... it may be Monday, but I have been out of town, out of touch with technology and in the midst of all that is right in the world.  Now, it is back to reality and though the Five on Friday is supposed to take place on, well, Friday I figured I would (in pure Melanie fashion) jump on the bandwagon a bit late.

Here are five things I am loving lately

1.) Tennessee!!

 It is my place. It is the place I think my soul belongs. More on that later. Until then just know it is something somewhere that I am really, REALLY, REALLY loving! Which is why it is also number...

2.) TENNESSEE!!

Even the storms seem better in Tennessee. It was less like a horrible, Florida flood and more like this incredible, peaceful light show that we got to enjoy from the confines of a wrap around back porch while the storm took place right across the lake behind the mountains leading into Kentucky. 

3.) This book

I have read this book already but our 12 hour road trip consisted of dramatic readings. Babe is still working his way through it after reading Divergent and while he is not a reader he has managed to get immersed in some of the books I love (which I love him for). Due to school he has not really been able to pick it up since our cruise in January. Most car trips consist of at least some dramatic reading periods by me while he drives. This trip we actually made it through almost 250 pages. I have forgotten a good bit of what happens and so now we will be reading this book aloud together so I can finish it with him.  If you are looking for a new book series and have not read this one I seriously recommend it! It is right up there with Hunger Games for me. However, I would wait until at least September to start (depending on how quick a reader you are). The third and final book does not come out until October (which I was unaware of when I first picked up the series before out last cruise).

4.) This movie

Fe, fi, fo, fum... you should watch it, is is fun!

We just watched it and my expectations were somewhat low. I had wanted a movie that I didn't think would require much thought and gave Babe three choices. He chose Jack over Despicable Me and Keeping Score (both of which I still want to see). I thought this movie was great! A little icky at parts (the giants were somewhat disgusting) but overall a really cute story! And though most of it was somewhat predictable to me (there is not many a movie or tv show that can stump, I always call the ending) there were parts that I was off about, which I deem like worthy in my book any day. It was kind of Narnian-esque in the filming. One scene looked exactly like the scene when the White Witch comes to discuss the terms of payment for Edmund's treachery.

5.) Skype

While in Tennessee I got the first chance to Skype with my bro, who is currently serving in Afghanistan. Tears ensued, but it was so great to see his face and hear his voice. Well, kind of. One thing about the lake is that there is not very good wi-fi reception. This is great for the most part because I leave all cares behind. Yet, it's not so great when trying to Skype all the way across the world. It was hard to see him but it was perfection either way. He got a chance to see all the Tennessee crowd too, which was nice! 

What five things are you loving this week? 

A Thousand Lives

I have attended Hogwarts.  I have lived in Forks.  I have been to a reaping and I am Divergent. I have seen the end of the world and I have been there for the beginning.  I have walked through the Wardrobe and I have flown to Neverland.  I have felt the grief of a love lost and I have seen the grace in one restored.  I have walked in the Garden and I have been at the feet of the Cross.  I hope that I was one who wept and that I didn't join in among the scoffers.  I have lived many different lives and I plan to live many more.

The amazing thing about a story, be it fiction or non, is that we get to make a choice.  With every new story, or in some cases even a new chapter in the same one, we get to be whoever we want to be.  And the choice is ours alone.  Am I going to be a defender of the underdog? Will I be the leader of the pack or the trusty sidekick? Will I be a lone ranger and forge my own path?  Will I fight against evil and see good prevail? Will I stand firm in that decision even when goodness may not seem to be winning the battle?  Will I trust in the truth or be surprised when my friend (or an enemy) was really not what he seemed? Will I be the one who will always fight for love even if it means giving everything I have?

I have loved the quote at the top since I came across it sometime ago.  A good friend actually posted it for me recently saying it reminded her of me and the fact that reading that would make her think of me made me smile. It could be the fresh excitement of a new book that I can't put down or another visit with "an old friend",  each time I read something that truly captures me I am taken outside of myself and I am forever slightly altered.

How many lives have you lived?  Outside of your own which has been your favorite?

Words: The Host

I hadn't planned to start my first words post with quotes from The Host, mainly because I had wanted to start with one of my favorite books (though this is one I have now read twice).  However, Babe and I went to see the movie last night so I thought in honor of that I would begin the week with my favorite quotes from the book.

Movie rendition review: As books go I liked The Host.  I thought Stephenie Meyer did a much better job with writing this one then she did with Twilight (though I do probably enjoy that story line a little better).  As movies go though (just as with all books made into movies), I found it dismal.  In comparison to other book-movies I thought they did a decent job of leaving out the right parts and changing and condensing where needed.  If you haven't already seen it and were wanting to then I would recommend waiting until it comes out on DVD (though I know if someone had said the same thing to me I doubt I could have resisted seeing it in theaters).  It is worth seeing if you have read the book (I always have to watch movies of books I have read) though not worth seeing in theaters.  A lot of things are hard to convey as so much goes on inside Wanda's/ Melanie's head.  One bonus though, she has my name! And I would like to believe that if anything of the likes ever did happen to us I would be just as strong as the Melanie in this story.

Words (from Stephenie Meyer, The Host):

"This love was tricky; it had no hard-and-fast rules- it might be given freely, or earned through time and hard work, or completely and heartbreakingly unattainable."
- Love? I am not really sure if I like that word.  This description of it though is fitting.  Love takes on so many forms.  It is never and has never been what they lead us to believe when they read us fairy tales as children.  There are so many examples of people that I can think of who fit each category.  Sometimes those thoughts are bittersweet and sometimes they just are the way they are no matter how much we think we might be able to do to change them.  Where do the people you love fit in? 

"Perhaps there could be no joy on this planet without an equal weight of pain to balance it out on some unknown scale." 

- I have often felt this way but I like to think of the pain of certain situations as instances that help to make us stronger.  If anything I think pain helps us appreciate joy just a bit more than we would if we didn't have the memory of pain to remind us of what is good.

"There was no bond greater than one that required your life for anothers."

- I think this takes on a different meaning for everyone.  It strikes me now to think of the amount of people that I feel like I would give my life for.  I would like to think that I could give my life for anyone but I also know that is probably not true either.  I don't think I am selfless enough for that.  So what makes someones life more important than our own and how do we fully understand the distinction between a relationship that would mean giving all and one that doesn't?